Lots of questions about the BodyBugg. Do you have one? Can I have your 2 cents?

Ok, So my weightloss has begun and I think it might have something to do with the excessive exercising I have been doing. When I say excessive I just mean I went from holding the couch cushins down to hard work outs 1 hour plus every day.

I really want to find out where and when I am burning the calories and where I could do a little better. I have never really watched the biggest loser but I was told the BodyBugg was on that show and thats how the craze started.

My questions are:

1. Is there a comparable product to the bugg for less money?
2. Do you HAVE to have a subscription with it or can you upload data without it
3. Is it worth the 250?
4. What features would you add or change?
5. Can it be worn under clothes easily to be hidden?
6. Can it be worn say on the ankle or something instead?

I appreciate anyone that can help me make this decision.

I'm wondering about the body bug myself. Wondering if it's worth the hassle of wearing it on your upper arm like that. I'm interested in reading the replys to this post.

Hi All,

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth & I'm a Wellness Coach, nutritionist & personal trainer. I've had a bodybugg for about 3 months now & absolutely love it! It is completely motivating.

For background read here: About the Bodybugg

I've written some blog posts about my experience too.

But anyway, I can answer your questions. The Bodybugg WILL help you identify areas where you're working hard & areas where you're sedentary. I can see exactly where I was working on the computer, where I got up to do laundry, make dinner, watched TV, walked the dog, etc. For the first few weeks, I was constantly thinking about how I didn't want to see those short lines that indicated that I was only burning 1 calorie per minute. My NEAT definitely improved.

but on to your specific questions:
no
you have to have the subscription. There is an optional watch that you can purchase which will tell you how many calories, steps, activity you are taking real time (and it has a trip meter so that you can see how many calories you're burning during a specific time period) but IMHO, it's $100 & not worth it. You'll also still need the web application to update any weight changes or goal changes that you might have.
YES YES YES. Alright - you might think that I have a conflict of interest here, but honestly, I wouldn't be selling them if I didn't believe in the product. When I think back to all of the money that I had spent on magic pills, supplements, gadgets, etc. I spend waaaay more money than 250 & this is definitely worth it.
Ummmm. I don't know what I'd add. Currently it doesn't track heart rate - it doesn't need to in order to figure out it's algorithm. It has 4 sensors: body temp, air temp, motion, and perspiration. In clinical trials, it is 92% accurate. HOWEVER, there are a few activities that it underestimates: bicycling & hot yoga. Oooh! I know what I'd change! I'd make it waterproof - it's okay with sweat & rain, but cannot be submersed. Oh - and I might make some changes to the food logging, but I think I'm just being picky there.
It depends on how tightly you wear your clothing. You would see a slight bulge under a tight fitting long sleeve t-shirt, however I didn't think it was noticeable under a dress shirt.
no

Something else that I want to add is that (other than sleeping) when you have the device off your body for more than 30 minutes, it will ask you to tell it what you were doing. If you want to go out to dinner & not wear it, don't. Then, when you upload, you can say "I was doing the same amount of activity that I did last night" or the night before, or last Saturday. you get the idea.

I hope you've found this helpful. Let me know if you have more questions.

1. Is there a comparable product to the bugg for less money?
2. Do you HAVE to have a subscription with it or can you upload data without it
3. Is it worth the 250?
4. What features would you add or change?
5. Can it be worn under clothes easily to be hidden?
6. Can it be worn say on the ankle or something instead?

Hey Brandy,
I am just a civilian here (not an expert like the last poster) but I have had my bodybugg for about 3 months now and can answer your questions from my experiences with it. You do have to have a subscription in order to use it, but you get the first 3 months free, then you can purchase it by the month or year, whatever your needs are. I didnt pay $250 for mine, they have sales all the time, plus I know you can buy them off ebay for cheaper. I DO NOT like the calorie tracking aspect of it, the lists that they provide are not very complete, and have had better luck tracking my intake on the Daily Plate website. I wear it under my clothes everyday and have never had anyone notice it. It must be worn on the right arm, no other place.
All in all, I would say that it was a decent investment because it enables my trainer to see what I have done on a daily basis. Has it helped me to lose weight? Hell no. That has come from working out 6 days a week and eating by the band rules. If you are just looking at it as another tool to HELP on this journey, I dont think you will be disappointed, but its just a tool. YOU are ultimately responsible for your own success. Hope this was helpful.

Tracy
Sacramento Spinnerchick

This is true - just make sure that you are getting the 3 months of service with the unit & not just the device. Otherwise it will cost you another $150 (or so) to activate it.

Just a word of caution.

Thanks for all the input!

I just got mine a week ago but I gotta say this is the piece of the puzzle I have been missing. When I am working hard at weight loss I always log my food. The part that i couldnt ever figure out was how much am i really burning. I always obsess over ALL of the numbers and i think this helps me to obsess way less. I lost 3.6 lbs in the first week. I do not think that will continue as a constant however I now I feel like i have more flexiblity now that I can SEE the actual numbers. I do not think this device will work for people who do not log or keep a realistic log of their food. I do not think their web app is as good as it could be. It's a bit klunky and could be improved on. However, I am just sitting patient to see what happens when they release the next version. I do wish it would take the heart rate, however I have heard that will be in the v3 model. I am a swimmer so it would be fantastic if i could wear it while I swim. I read somewhere that they are having problems with that feature because of the usb port. I also saw a thread where a guy had a waterproof sleeve made so that he could use it with his water sports. So I may look into doing that. I have been wanting one of these since last year but because of the cost, I didnt want to buy a new toy that i may not use. I got lucky because one of the guys here at work was selling his used one, so i got it for $120. We based that number on the numbers we were seeing on Ebay. Apex has the subscription right now for $99 and that included a 3 month subscrition to the site and 1 session with the coach. Then after that you can renew for a much lower cost. They also have different eating programs that you can select from. Which gives you more options when you hit different goals. Anyway, for having used it a week, I gotta say this was totally worth the money and I love it.

The Body Bugg is onsale right now for $100 at 24hr fitness online.. thru the 6th..go get one!

I love mine! have seen major sucess from it as well.. worth the money!

Yes... there is the ActivTrainer (or something lilke that) it will track activity but you have to track your own intake on dailyplate or something similar.

You need the subscription to use it the way it is intended.

Yes... but they go on sale all the time at 24hourfitness.com

Nothing, well nothing doable. I would love not to have to log my food... like if it just "knew" what I ate. LOL

It does stick out, and everyone will ask about it. People didn't notice so much in the winter obviously, but the girls in the office call it my 'growth'.

No it won't work anywhere else. I tried but got WAY different read outs.

Anything else just ask!

I thought of one more thing I would change... It won't let you choose your own nutrition plan. I would love to be able to enter my nutrition goals (% protein, % carbs, etc) to see how my intake compares. Oh and my coach sucked. I only used one of my coaching session b/c I wasn't impressed. But the product itself makes up for it.